HORSE RACING BACK ON TRACK
The chairman of Wexford Racecourse, Michael Murphy has welcomed the Government announcement that race fixtures in Ireland can resume behind close doors from June 8 at the same time that Fianna Fail TD, James Browne has called for greyhound racing tracks to be given permission to re-open.
Bettyville racecourse hosted the last pre-Covid-19 race meeting on St. Patrick’s Day, which was held in the absence of spectators and all subsequent events for the year were cancelled, with a new fixture list currently being drawn up by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI).
‘We haven’t been given a date for June. We haven’t been allocated any dates yet. Horse Racing Ireland is working on it. They are going to run more flat races first and we’re National Hunt. I don’t know exactly when we’ll be starting. It will be a completely new fixture list’, said Mr. Murphy.
The chairman said when Wexford Racecourse re-opens, there will be ‘serious protocols’ with strict public health safety measures in place.
Race meetings will not be open to the public. Only the key personnel required to run a fixture will be permitted on site. Everyone in attendance will be subject to health surveying in advance and thermal temperature screening on entry.
Anyone presenting with elevated temperatures will be denied access and instructed to consult with their GP.
There will be mandatory wearing of face coverings for jockeys, stalls handlers, medical professionals and security staff and social distancing will be strictly enforced by a dedicated Covid-19 protocol officer at each fixture.
Chief Executive of Horse Racing Ireland, Brian Kavanagh said the organisation is grateful to be one of the sectors permitted to go back to work. He acknowledged the responsibility on everyone in racing to ensure that events are run in a safe way.
‘We know from our own experience in March when we safely ran ten meetings behind closed doors – and from what is happening in other countries like France, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and America – that racing can be staged safely within the requirements of social distancing’, he said.
‘With significant input from the IHRB’s chief medical officer Dr. Jennifer Pugh, we have strengthened the HRI Covid-19 protocols and so, while race fixtures will return in Ireland on June 8, they will be very different from what people will have experienced before.’
Racing restarted behind closed doors in Germany on May 7 and in France on May 11, while in Australia, Japan and Hong Kong the industry continued operating behind closed doors. In Britain, the British Horseracing Authority plans to resume racing on June 1.
‘The decision to allow racing to resume behind closed doors will be welcomed within the industry. For Flat racing in particular, but also for a significant portion of the National Hunt population, there is a seasonal and cyclical nature to the industry and these are key months in the trade and export of horses with proven form on the race track, as well as a vital period in the sales season’, said Mr. Kavanagh.
‘These will not be race meetings as you might traditionally imagine them, rather stripped back events which will determine the best horses in various categories, a vital factor for the breeding industry. Attendance will be kept to an absolute minimum and Covid-19 protocols will be strictly enforced.’
Meanwhile Wexford TD James Browne has said greyhound racing should restart at the same time as horse racing
‘It’s bizarre that greyhound racing will not be permitted to resume behind closed doors at the same time as the resumption of horse racing’.
‘It seems that there’s a clear inconsistency of policy. Horse racing received the green light for the resumption of races from 8th June. Greyhound racing already implemented a racing behind closed doors policy in early March. A one-person one-dog policy appears to minimise the level of risk involved.’
Deputy Browne said the the Irish Greyhound Board has given a firm commitment to meeting necessary standards in their tracks and stadia while the country tackles the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘Tracks like the one in Enniscorthy would be able to adhere to Covid-19 public health guidance’, said the Fianna Fail TD, who has written to the Minister for Agriculture asking him engage with the Irish Greyhound Board to examine how greyhound racing can return to the tracks at an earlier date.